When the University of Victoria women’s cross country team claimed a team bronze medal at last year’s U Sports Canadian University Championships, it marked the first time in 13 years that the Vikes had climbed onto the national podium. Claiming bronze individually that same day was Madelyn Eybergen, a breakout star at the University of Windsor, who had entered the season as a complete unknown. Eybergen discovered distance running only a year earlier after injury woes put an end to a promising varsity high-jump career. At the time, both feats seemed like crowning achievements: a return to form for the once-dominant Vikes program after several years of steady rebuilding under new head coach Hilary Stellingwerff, and an incredible cap to her career as a Lancer for Eybergen, who was set to wrap up her time in Windsor and pursue graduate studies in kinesiology elsewhere.Fast-forward to this past weekend in Sherbrooke, Que., however, and the 2025 iteration of the U Sports Championships would see both the Vikes and Eybergen achieve even greater heights, topping the podium with gold medals in the team and individual competitions, respectively. The biggest difference a year later? That the 2024 bronze-medal-winning individual had joined forces with the 2024 bronze-winning team, combining to bring a national title home to Victoria for the first time since 2001–the year Eybergen was born. Today on The Shakeout Podcast we’re joined by the newly minted U Sports Cross Country double gold medallist Madelyn Eybergen and Vikes head coach Hilary Stellingwerff to recap a historic win for their team and talk about how they turned a pair of bronze medals from 2024 into double gold in 2025.Subscribe to The Shakeout Podcast feed on Apple, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you find your podcasts.Huge thank you to this week's sponsor Smartwool. Join the Smartwool mailing list to receive updates and 15% off your first purchase. https://bit.ly/4hCway5 Conditions apply: Valid on regular-priced items. Can., 16+. Initial registration only. See terms for details.

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